Magifest's coming up soon, my flight and room are ready and I've had a list of routines ready to practice. Except, I cut my thumb earlier last week and wouldn't you believe it, it hindered my practice =[
I was able to get in a few practice sessions with a couple routines that didn't rely on the thumb, and I re-read (or watched in one case) the overview of the other tricks I want to brush up on, but yeah. The cherry on top of everything is that today, the cut's finally healed enough to handle a deck of cards... and somehow -- don't ask me how because I have no idea -- I've bruised the tip of the thumb! It's either a bruise, or the beginning of an infection. Not sure which, but in either case the pain is unbelievable.
I tried doing a standard riffle shuffle on the table and was unable to. So, it looks like I will have to re-think my set. It's not the end of the world, but I was really excited to show off a few things. Hopefully everything heals in the next couple of days and this will all just be a forethought. Hopefully.
Portfolio52 is hosting their annual "Deck of the Year" (DOYT) award competition to celebrate the hobby of playing cards and to recognize some of the most amazing decks from 2023. I think that there are still a few more days left to vote, and they have decks in the running for the following categories:
- Best Tuck
- Best Back Design
- Best Innovative Design
- Best Ace
- Best Court Card
- Best Joker
- Best Custom Pips
- Best Fan
- Best of the Extras
- Best Cardistry Deck
- Best Magic Deck
- Rookie of the Year
- Deck of the Year
There are 10 decks nominated in each category. Some of them, I don't personally agree with and feel that there were others from the year that could've, or should've, been put there instead -- but hey, that's why it's a voting system and not a gbabbits-picks system! =P
If you haven't already, go cast your vote now!
Speaking of end of the year things and, tangentially, photos of decks, I've been thinking a lot about what it is I want to do with my "online presence." To make the context more clear, I'm talking about everything from this blog to Instagram to YouTube, and all of the other social media platforms in between.
I want to do more with YouTube. I've found that I really enjoy making videos, both the filming and editing aspects. Granted, though it takes a lot of time it's still enjoyable to me. Photography is still great too, but let's face it, Instagram engagement seems to have died off for photos by an insane amount. I started off posting photos on IG to get better at photography and to join (and build) a community around cards and card magic. The community's there, but this drop in engagement, or algorithm preferences, feels like the perfect time to segue to the next stage: video.
That said, I also want to do more on this blog this year too. For most of the year I post twice a week. I'll likely continue that, and maybe add additional posts in between. Until now though I've mostly used this as, well, a blog. I'll still do that, but I want to focus more on actual magic that others can use, as well as more reviews.
Tying this back to the "end of the year things" topic, given the timing, it's almost like a New Year's Resolution. I mean, it's closer to the end of the month now, but we can probably still say that. So, for 2024, I will be focusing less on photography and more on YouTube and The Babbit's Grimoire.
Wish me luck!